CP wrote --

I haven't been too involved with our schol board, only on occasions, when I meet enough oft hem to begin to gert an idea, t hen I'll do the rest of the research to make an informed vote.

From what I have read and heard SB's are very important today with some
of the things they are teaching little kids who have no idea about anything, unless they were properly taught at home.
When I started school my mother had already taught me to read and write
as others in the class had been taught.
Today everything seems to be pushed off onto the teachers "that's their
job" is too common today.
Plus you have so many single parent households and that parent is either working or a lay about who can care less.
Then the kids come home with all sorts of crazy ideas they are taught and only then do some parents become involved. Sometimes when its too late.
Joe

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From what I have read and heard SB's are very important today with some
of the things they are teaching little kids who have no idea about anything, unless they were properly taught at home.
When I started school my mother had already taught me to read and write
as others in the class had been taught.
Today everything seems to be pushed off onto the teachers "that's their
job" is too common today.
Plus you have so many single parent households and that parent is either working or a lay about who can care less.
Then the kids come home with all sorts of crazy ideas they are taught and only then do some parents become involved. Sometimes when its too late.

True enough; our SBs are more just administrators of the funds given to them by the provincial Ministry of Education.

I, too, was reading & doing math at a 4th grade level when I entered school -- threy gave mymom heck for this.

It wasn't common -- I was the only one for many years who was keeping up or statying ahead of curriculum -- my mom also taught me to look up infrormation for myself in the two encyclopedia sets we owned. (one, The World Book, was the school standard, the other was a very high end one: the Encyclopedia Britannica, with annual Yearbooks(updates); I would sit & read the Britannica for hours on end, at an age when my peers were still reading "picture books."

So happy my mom and dad taught me to think for myself - it's so critical now, but it's sad to know how rare this is. Being as I have to live with the idiots these people elect. Frustrating.

I still love learning & am as happy reading dictionaries & encyclpedias as novels. My son prefers encyclopedias to novels.

Maybe I'll look into our klocal school board a bit more closely -- theyere is a good bunch on there now -- I've had the privilege of addressing them at one of their meetings on an issue I hold near & dear.

It didn't pass the motion to be adopted, but I thoroughly understood the reasonings involved in the negative votes, & respect all who voted, eitherway.

If & when I am 100% right & promoting an idea that is incontrovertibly the best thing for the district, then I'll consider it important they all agree with me.

I still beliegve what I was promoting was.is 100% right, bgthat the SDB wasn't qyite rtyhe right vebue -- I had a better result addressing Mayor & Council, & obtaimning their enthusiastic support (whjich was worth far more than the SB's anyway)

My country, my government, my privilege/responsibility to keep tabs on the DELETEDs!


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CP wrote --

True enough; our SBs are more just administrators of the funds given to them by the provincial Ministry of Education.

Those who pay the piper call the tune, as the old saying goes.
If one is in control of the purse they have a lot a say in a matter.

So happy my mom and dad taught me to think for myself - it's so critical now, but it's sad to know how rare this is. Being as I have to live with the idiots these people elect. Frustrating.

When I was in school critical thinking was taught. Not formally as a
class, but within classes.
If one had an idea popular or unpopular, they had to explain why they
thought that way.
Anymore that isn't taught. Its all too much group think.

I still love learning & am as happy reading dictionaries & encyclpedias as novels. My son prefers encyclopedias to novels.

I enjoy reading phone books. Not much of a plot but a lot of
characters... :)
Joe

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Joe,

I enjoy reading phone books. Not much of a plot but a lot of characters... :)

For a good time, call BR-549. <G>

Daryl

... Hypochondria is the only disease I haven't got.
=== MultiMail/Win v0.52
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CP wrote --

True enough; our SBs are more just administrators of the funds given to them

by the provincial Ministry of Education.
Those who pay the piper call the tune, as the old saying goes.

Well, we taxpayers do the paying.

If one is in control of the purse they have a lot a say in a matter.

There you go -- the cxrux of the matter. We fill the purse, but certain much- unloved bureaucrat weinies control where it goes, & how quickly or not ('fiscal bandwidth' as a new buzz phrase?)

So happy my mom and dad taught me to think for myself - it's so critical now, >but it's sad to know how rare this is. Being as I have to live with the idiots

these people elect. Frustrating.
When I was in school critical thinking was taught. Not formally as a
class, but within classes.

I had yhe odd teacher who taught beyond the rigidity of the corporation-centred curreiculum -- they stand out as most of my favourites.

Ytou & were fortunate to be in school when ceertain books & authors wetre still required reading (1984, Animal Farm, Robert A Heinlein(a fellow Navy man--his memories of his time in the Navy were among his favourite & most passed on into his writings; he taught me a lot about righteous tebellion -- that a man(or woman) must be wiling, & able, to stabnd up for themselves, their country, & their family/friends--he strongly believed in everyone should serve 2 years minimum in their country's military, but preferably without legal coercion-- only societal peer pressure, when necessary.) & Orwell, of course, was giving us a clear warning, that certain powerfeeders have chosen to read as an instruction manual.

If one had an idea popular or unpopular, they had to explain why they
thought that way.

Nice! I had one teacher who had the balls to introduce Creation as just being a choice among others (I was in Canada's Bible Belt); he brought up the topic in Socials, to preface our World History segment. & asked who believed in Evolution, or Creation, or "Other"; then he asked for reps of each side to explain their posit8on -- it reallyboileddown to home environment & even 10- year-olds figured that one out; he gave us a task over lunch hour -- to research & come back and prove which is rightr & why, over the others. No opinions, only proveable facts.

Naturally, duruing the afternoon debrief, nobody was able to stand up & prove, using objective facts. I was the onewho poted out that science rerquires observation & reproducibility, so Evolution as a complete theory isstill lacking, but I said it had the most for it, as built into science was the concept of keep searcyhing for more facts, & ways to prove (which they believe they've done by reproducing/observing pieces of the entire evolutionary timeline chain of actions & reactions.--I personally believe(& have observatins for) that they've omitted some clear evidences that widens the category into one that's rightfully inclusive of Creation. I'm working on this Super-Unified Theory. Could be a lifetime job that only results in my passing on my work to others after I'm dusted. . .

Anymore that isn't taught. Its all too much group think.

True; today's teachers have graduated the new ultra-Lie-beral college grouptrthink 'thinking' & no longer think for themselves nor allow such in theirclassroomsd -- I cab't list how many times I got penalized for being more correct than the curriculum wanted. I got my As & A+s, but eventually they dropped those, as they left too much room for kids to surpass the caps(in either direction)

I'm stil mad, 45 years later that I got marked wrong in Pphonics for spelling wordsacorrecly, the weya they sounded(to me, who was taught at age 3 or 4 that wordfs like neighbour & weigh are properly pronounced as the "ei" vowel/dipthong, so when asked to spell these phonetically, I somehow spelled them correctly & was marked wrong because I didn't write nabor & wa; I still won't dumb down my knowledge of proper English, but I keep it to myself when it's in conflict with my paycheque signer's position. (practicality, plus it's not nice to mock the disabled)

I refuse to allow aritrary self-interest to alter my beloved mother tongue.

I can't type worth crap, one-handed, but I know how the words I use are spelt.

I try to use proper conversational rules, to translate words when necesary for my auduience, spo when wqriting in the USA to Americans, I'm happy to use Americxan spel;linlgs on occasion, when I think to, as I'm bilingual that way. (quite multilingual, in fact; I'll list the languages I'm fluent in at the bottom here); hmm, darn, lost that text file of 80+ languages I speak fluently (spoiler: all were English, per the fact that the countries I list have English as an official language.)

I still love learning & am as happy reading dictionaries & encyclpedias as

novels. My son prefers encyclopedias to novels.
I enjoy reading phone books. Not much of a plot but a lot of
characters...

I've hear hat -- never got into them myself.

Did you know you can reuse old phone books as personal address books by simply blacking out the names of the people you don't know (this joke worked better in a public forum when everyone knew what a phone book was & got a new one every year or two)

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CP wrote --

Those who pay the piper call the tune, as the old saying goes.

Well, we taxpayers do the paying.

Too often bureaucrats think they are owed the money to with was they
please.

Anymore that isn't taught. Its all too much group think.

True; today's teachers have graduated the new ultra-Lie-beral college grouptrthink 'thinking' & no longer think for themselves nor allow such in theirclassroomsd

I often like to ask a young person (nowadays that's most anyone under 60 rather then teenagers) "why do you think/say that" when they say something I may disagree with.
I'm not saying they are wrong, when often they are, but how they came to
that conclusion.
I seldom get a good defence of their reasoning.
One thing that grates on me is the use of the word "feel" for think. The
two are not the same.
So many seem to think something is real/not real because they _feel_ it is/isn't.

I'm stil mad, 45 years later that I got marked wrong in Pphonics for spelling wordsacorrecly,

I was an average speller. There are some words that still through me
for a loop.
I was always taught "look it up in the dictionary" which helped a lot.
Today that would probably be considered child abuse....
I always double check my spelling and writing before I'm done with it,
on a pc. (On paper I'm ok). Its amazing the times I've mispelt a word, or what I wrote made little sense. (Quiet Daryl).

Did you know you can reuse old phone books as personal address books by simply blacking out the names of the people you don't know

Sounds like a blonde joke. :)
I doubt many kids today know what a phone book is much less how to use
one. :)
Joe
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Joe,

I always double check my spelling and writing before I'm done with
it, on a pc. (On paper I'm ok). Its amazing the times I've mispelt a word, or what I wrote made little sense. (Quiet Daryl).

With problems with the doorgames no longer working on the BBS, plus
dealing with repeated days of severe weather (tornadoes, large hail,
damaging winds, and flooding), and finding out I need cardiac ablation
surgery, the BBS is becoming the least of my worries right now.

Daryl

... Religious Error: A)tone, R)epent, B)lame Satan.
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Those who pay the piper call the tune, as the old saying goes.

Well, we taxpayers do the paying.

Too often bureaucrats think they are owed the money to with was they
please.

Yup, it's the born-rich attitude -- weexist only as serfs to increase their wealth as thewy see fit.

The only difference in the modern way is they allow us the illusion of having free choices.

Anymore that isn't taught. Its all too much group think.

I know -- sad, & frightening, considering Orwell wrote about it in 1948 (published the next year) & everyone has had the chance to read it by now (most of us have, I'd say, who are literate communicators.)

The "televsion" references confused us, until when computer screens were standard, the new generations think Orwell was just writing set in ancient times (1984 &/or earlier)

Our TVs moniotor us, too, but not as much as Windows-enabled computers & any smartphone device or tablet!

Always a bit frightening to see ads for the topics of last night's living room conversations show up on Facebook, YouTube, & Amazon!

True; today's teachers have graduated the new ultra-Lie-beral college
grouptrthink 'thinking' & no longer think for themselves nor allow such in

theirclassroomsd
I often like to ask a young person (nowadays that's most anyone under 60 rather then teenagers) "why do you think/say that" when they say something I may disagree with.
I'm not saying they are wrong, when often they are, but how they came to
that conclusion.
I seldom get a good defence of their reasoning.

I do much the same, but haven't yet got to where I can be consistently non- accuisatory in doing it.

I lke what one standup comic said: when an older (70/80+) person is wrong, they're more right than mosdt younger (30/20&<), because they have so much more experience, knowledge,& thinking that went nto their statement.

One thing that grates on me is the use of the word "feel" for think. The
two are not the same.

Yup; & how pollsters ask for people's BELIEFS, then post them as if the facts were determined by a selection of people's opinions.

Does it really matter how many people think the Earth is flat? It isn't!

So many seem to think something is real/not real because they _feel_ it is/isn't.

True. I feel sad when I needto say, "I'm sorry, but your opinions & feelings do not trump tyhe facts I'vcwe just presented."

I'm caerful in my speech & writing -- I use qualifying words so you'll know if I'm giving a fact I'veindependently verified, or an opinion.

Of course, as with you, my opinions aren't built of smoke, but out of my own years of experience & living life outside a screen.

It's weird to think back to my yuonger years & picture that person today, or hearing of today (you people pay MONEY for water?! Why not just suck it out of any stranger's outside tap for free?) (I was always "properly hydrated," even without carrying a bottle of water everywhere, in the 1970s.); common sense again: if thirsty, drink.

I'm stil mad, 45 years later that I got marked wrong in Pphonics for spelling

wordsacorrecly,
I was an average speller. There are some words that still through me
for a loop.
I was always taught "look it up in the dictionary" which helped a lot.
Today that would probably be considered child abuse....

No kidding! My wife, who raised a couple kids before we met, during my childless yeaers of learning & adventuring, will often tell me to stop my old school suggestions, as that's not how it's done today.

But my son does know how to use Google to answeer his own questions, as I used encyclopedias -- hecan probably get right to the right article faster than I ever could, nit I still claim I learned more, as I'df reasd thge entire entry & 4 or 5 others that were listed as "rlated" & a few more I spent impulsively looking up other things the articles made me think of. . .

Even in theearly 1970-s my mom got in troublefromm,y schjol because I altready knew the entire yea's curriculuym & much from the two aheads of me.

Dahecck? That's a mom's JOB when there's free time(no outside job) & a first born-only. Oh, sorry, that's sexiat & white male oppression! oooohh, slap me with a wet spaghetti noodle, ma; I'll behave!

I always double check my spelling and writing before I'm done with it,
on a pc. (On paper I'm ok). Its amazing the times I've mispelt a word, or what I wrote made little sense. (Quiet Daryl).

I have a sill chicken on my email now, as one of my friends was having genuine trouble reading my emails. (I tended to get excited in chatting with him on various topics we both enjoy, like language)

I doubt many kids today know what a phone book is much less how to use
one.

I suspect you're right; the day they stopped giving out free phone books was a sad day for me -- my son happily tore apart any old ones we found, to shred to use as rodent bedding..

Now I can look for numbers on the internet, but so few have a listed number now, it's useless!

If I haven'ty put them in my phone's contacts, I don't have them; I use the internet to find business phone numbers when needed & that's handy enough & a bit more than half the reason I carry my phone with me everywhere.

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CP wrote --

I know -- sad, & frightening, considering Orwell wrote about it in 1948

He got a lot of things right. The message is right, its the medium that changed.

Always a bit frightening to see ads for the topics of last night's living room conversations show up on Facebook, YouTube, & Amazon!

Yep.

Yup; & how pollsters ask for people's BELIEFS, then post them as if the facts were determined by a selection of people's opinions.

Concur.
A lot of people believe things that simply aren't true.

I have a sill chicken on my email now, as one of my friends was having genuine trouble reading my emails.

Same here.
I sometimes have to read something a couple of times.
Your spell is like my handwriting.
If reading something I had written some time before I have to think what
was I writing about and sort of fill in the gaps. These are generally something I just jotted down. Often times I give up and trying to decipher it.
:)

If I haven'ty put them in my phone's contacts, I don't have them; I use the internet to find business phone numbers when needed

Going back to ads popping up I find it a bit scary when I want to find a business in this area and just type in, oh say, "pizza" and get a list of
pizza places around me.
Not "pizza places in Huntington, WV" but just "pizza".

that's handy enough & a bit more than half the reason I carry my phone with me everywhere.

When I worked in wholesale produce I called about 80 businesses a day to
get their orders. After a while I knew their number by heart and didn't
need to look it up. Those are long since drifted out of my memory.
Currently in parking I have about 50 license plates of regulars
memorised, along with permit numbers, etc.
I like to show off at work at times and have someone give me a
description of a vehicle:
Red Ford four door on such and such a lot.
That plate number is thus and so.
They check the list and I'm right. :)
Now balancing my cheque book is another story with numbers...
Joe
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CP wrote --

I know -- sad, & frightening, considering Orwell wrote about it in 1948

He got a lot of things right. The message is right, its the medium that changed.

I wonder if he had a true vision of the future & he saw the computers & what was behind them ("Big Brother") but didn't have the words or concept for "computer" in his time or language, so he interpreted with a writer's imagination & linked it to something from his day that he saw as leading to a particular danger. He was fully right, as computers are now just television sets -- providing quick & easy entertainment to the masses ("them asses"; my interpretation of "hoi polloi")

Yup; & how pollsters ask for people's BELIEFS, then post them as if the facts

were determined by a selection of people's opinions.
Concur.
A lot of people believe things that simply aren't true.

& guess who elects our government (not "leaders" as it was at one time composed exclusively of those who were solid leaders in tight(military) situations, putting their men's lives ahead of their own when required. Even the military only has "commanders" now, who sit far away from the fighting, making decisions that put others' lives on the line, while they sit safely home with their families.

I have a sill chicken on my email now, as one of my friends was having

genuine trouble reading my emails.
Same here.
I sometimes have to read something a couple of times.
Your spell is like my handwriting.

I spell beautifully, but I type lousily (one handed & all, by necessity(only one working hand); I figured out how to activate a spill chicken in my browser now, so that's improved things, too, for y'all. My biggest peeve is spaces that don't go in where I hit the spacebar. . .

If reading something I had written some time before I have to think what
was I writing about and sort of fill in the gaps. These are generally
something I just jotted down. Often times I give up and trying to decipher it
:)

I'm the same with my own written notes -- this is why I love my phone -- I can make a legible note at any time (typically I email the to my home desktop email)

Going back to ads popping up I find it a bit scary when I want to find a business in this area and just type in, oh say, "pizza" and get a list of pizza places around me.
Not "pizza places in Huntington, WV" but just "pizza".

Yup, Google was always with a geographical bias for results -- which helps most people (but helps businesses even more, of course); let's be honest -- you were seeking pizza places within 2 miles of your location, really, fr free delivery or for easiest picking, eh? Google is just trying to be 'helpful' (yup, need a nice suspension bridge? You can set the tools & make money forever from it!)

When I worked in wholesale produce I called about 80 businesses a day to
get their orders. After a while I knew their number by heart and didn't
need to look it up. Those are long since drifted out of my memory.

I was sae, with numbers I called at least weekly (or two, depending on importance); never had an address book or phone book, never used a phone book except to find a stranger or business I hadn't called yet.

A teacher millennia, ago lamented the use of paper & pencil because children no longer learned stuff by heart (completely memorizing a half book or two was standard)

Currently in parking I have about 50 license plates of regulars
memorised, along with permit numbers, etc.
I like to show off at work at times and have someone give me a
description of a vehicle:
Red Ford four door on such and such a lot.
That plate number is thus and so.
They check the list and I'm right. :)
Now balancing my cheque book is another story with numbers...

For any ob I'm on, I quickly memorize the key data that speeds things up for me, like at the A&W, I memorized the entire menu, including recipe, ingredients, & prices (I did the math for taxes in my head, if asked for a total -- saved me walking back to the register, ringing it up as a dummy sale(so as not to go onto the tape for the day's total); it was some times cold out there, so an extra walk back & forth to the farthest parking stall wasn't my idea of a necessity, if I could resolve the need easier.

in my current job, taken when I was a fair bit older, I would memorize the key emails used for our big clients & most used providers (emails & even their emergency phone numbers); when I did a stint as call director, I memorized all extensions & mobile phone numbers for transferring calls on the old system, then the new one h ad them all in a list on my desktop & I could click to transfer, including my pre-announce or not.

Now I'm looking for the tech way to do everything, as my memory isn't what it used to be -- still got a few things in there, but like that teacher said, 3-4K years ago,. the pencil is enemy to the memory

I'm not lazy -- I'm efficient; that's intelligently lazy (& I can omit that exclamation & get credit for efficiency)

I took to textspeak, creating my own abbreviations, to save typing. It almost annoys me when I have to explain them, but then I'm especially appreciative when I meet someone who gels with my way of thinking & just gets them first time used!

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